NFL Fantasy Football On The Radar–Week 12

Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. OK, I know that he was on this list last week, but things have happened since then. Earnest Graham suffered an ankle injury in Week 11 that will reportedly keep him out for the rest of the season. Although Warrick Dunn is playing he is dealing with his own injury concerns.

Will there be some carries for Cadillac this week? Probably some. Will he shoulder the load? Definitely not. Williams is not ready to resume such actions yet, but if something more serious were to happen to Dunn in the next couple weeks, you could have a starter on your hands.

The question is which Cadillac will show up? Will it be the Cadillac that played so well his rookie year, or the one that we saw last week? I don’t have an answer, but I wouldn’t bet my house on it.

Ahman Green, RB, Houston Texans. Consider this more of a warning than anything else. If you find yourself relying on Ahman Green for points in what’s left in the season, you are in trouble. I know he scored twice last week, but he just isn’t worth much and rarely gets more than 10 carries in a game.

He has just one other touchdown this season, and I don’t see this as a trend. I don't think he will start taking touchdowns from Steve Slaton. Slaton has done nothing to make the Texans doubt his talent. Texas won’t stunt his growth by giving Green a hefty percentage of the carries. Unless you are REALLY in a bind, stay away from Green.

Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans Saints. If Reggie Bush is unable to return again, and IF Deuce McAllister gets hit with an expected four game suspension for his use of performance enhancing drugs, Thomas could carry the load for the Saints this week against the Packers. Even if both of these outcomes don’t pan out, he should still have some value this coming week.

McAllister has been scoring lately, but he has rushed for only 18 yards in consecutive weeks. He isn’t exactly lighting up the stat sheet right now. Plus I don’t expect New Orleans to give Reggie Bush 20 carries in his first game back from injury, if he is even able to return this Sunday.

If you are in a bind, Thomas might be able to help. It would have to be the perfect storm of factors for him to be a top notch fantasy starter this week, but he should still get 10-15 carries and catch a few out of the backfield.

Antonio Pittman, RB, St. Louis Rams. Stephen Jackson has been ruled out again for week 12. When a back is ruled out that fast, it makes me nervous. I find it hard to believe that a guy who is too hurt to play on Tuesday will find his way back the following week either, so Jackson owners beware.

Pittman had a good game against lowly San Francisco last week with 95 yards on 18 carries. Before you get too excited about Pittman’s chances for the future, remember he was playing against the 49ers. In week 12, he faces off against the tough Bears run defense. In week 13, he plays against Miami.

Don’t go running to the waiver wire expecting fantasy gold. However, if you own Jackson (like I do) you may be forced to play Pittman as most starters in the league are likely owned by other teams. It appears you can do worse that Pittman, but please temper your expectations so that you won’t be overly disappointed.

Jerome Harrison, RB, Cleveland Browns. Harrison is a long shot but I try to report on guys who had surprisingly good weeks. If you watched the Browns vs. Bills game on Monday night then you know one thing, Harrison is fast...really fast. His 72-yard touchdown run was over in a blink of an eye, and I believe he will have a future in this league. 

Even though Harrison showed potential, there is no way that he will away from Jamal Lewis. As long as Lewis is healthy he will be the main man in Cleveland. Harrison will get his 5-7 carries and a catch or two each week. However, if Lewis gets injured (which is pretty rare), Harrison could be an exciting pickup down the stretch.

Jabar Gaffney, WR, New England Patriots. Last year after Thanksgiving, Gaffney made an impact in every other game. He scored four times in his final six games. During that span he received for 82, 87, and 122 yards.

Could he repeat his performance again in 2008? I'm not confident about it, but Gaffney did have seven receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown against the Jets in week 11. I no longer discount the Patriots receivers due to the fact that Matt Cassel is the quarterback, but I’m not sure that you will get the same kind of production out of Gaffney that you did last season. However, he is definitely worth keeping an eye on down the stretch if you are in need of wide receiver help.

Joshua Cribbs, WR, Cleveland Browns. As we get late in to the season some of the running backs on this list might be a stretch. Cribbs isn’t a bad pickup if your league rewards return yards as he is one of the best in the game. Cribbs averages almost 27 yards per kick return and nearly 10 per punt return.

He has just two catches this season, but scored on a short run on Monday night. As the Browns get more desperate to win, perhaps they will find inventive ways to use Cribbs’ speed. However, I don’t think he is worth having on a roster at this time.

Benjamin Watson, TE, New England Patriots. Once thought to be the main tight end for Tom Brady to pass to, Watson had just 11 catches for 91 yards heading into week 11. He nearly doubled both totals with eight catches for 88 yards and his first touchdown in week 11.

The Pats haven’t been the type of team that over utilizes their tight ends since the days of Ben Coates, but if Watson is ever able to put together a couple decent weeks, he might be worth adding. New England plays Miami and Pittsburgh the next couple of weeks, so I would be shocked if that happened.

Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco 49ers. I am sure that most of you have given up on Davis at this point. I’m sure the people at Under Armour are just as pissed about his performances as the 49ers are. The good news? Davis has caught a touchdown pass in consecutive weeks. The bad news? Both touchdown receptions were his only catches of the game and combined for 20 yards.

More good news? In his second touchdown Vernon didn’t even do any idiotic celebration in the end zone and get penalized 15 yards for it. Perhaps head coach Mike Singletary is getting through to the young potential stud. He is still too inconsistent to start at this point unless you are in a keeper league.

J.P. Losman, QB, Buffalo Bills. Trent Edwards has turned into a disaster. In his last four games Edwards has three touchdowns, eight interceptions, two fumbles, and a safety. During this stretch the Bills have gone from 5-1 to 5-5. Will he remain the starter? I would bet at least for one more week. However, if he has repeats his performance at Kansas City, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see Buffalo turn to Losman before they return home to face the 49ers.

Kevin Kolb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles. Kolb might be a huge stretch, but given the amount of injuries to quarterbacks, I felt the need to report on him after McNabb's poor performance last week. Some questions were hurled Andy Reid’s way about benching McNabb which he quickly squashed. With 14 touchdowns McNabb isn't having a horrible season, but when you tie against the Cincinnati Bengals, questions will come up. If you have been decimated by injuries to quarterbacks like I have, it is always good to know who the backups are because……..you never know.

As always, your comments and questions (adds/drops, lineup advice, etc.) are welcome at [e-mail]. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.